“These are not just pictures; they are testimonies that will live forever.”
I remember that, decades ago, I would enjoy looking through National Geographic magazines. I rarely read the text, but would often be enthralled by the photographs. They might have been wildlife, nature, people, exotic places. Each photo was telling a story. (Maybe that’s why I didn’t read the text.) Now NatGeo is offering us a look at the creator of such images in a six episode series, Photographer.
Each episode profiles a different photographer, We see their work, but we also hear them tell their own story—how they got into photography and why they do the things they do. We also hear a bit of the struggle that some of them have had to deal with. We also discover that they have a passion for the work they do.
It is a very diverse group of photographers. Anand Varum is a nature photographer that we watch doing a project to photograph the development of chicks in the egg from a single cell to hatching. Paul Nicklen and Christina Mittermeier are wildlife photographers who are dedicated to saving the oceans, especially from oil production.
Muhammed Muheisen has won two Pulitzers for his war coverage, but has chosen to aim his camera at refugees. And not only document their lives, but to advocate for them and seek to change their lives. Kristle Wright is an extreme sports and adventure photographer who we see chasing tornados in Texas and creating art in a crack in a monolith in Moab.
Campbell Addymade a name for himself in fashion and celebrity photography, but we watch as he prepares for his first solo art show, which includes ways he is dealing with being gay, British-Ghanaian, religious, and dealing with mental issues. Dan Winters has primarily been a portrait photographer, but has a passion from wrecked ships and plans to go to Bangladesh to photograph a shipyard and its workers.
These are all people who help us see the world in ways we may have never imagined. Their work may be to document important events, help us understand nature, find beauty in new places, or discover the humanity that the world often makes invisible.
My favorites among the episodes were the ones focusing on Anand Varum and Muhammed Muheisen. Varum has an amazing body of work that takes nature photography to a new level. He is filled with wonder in the many forms of life that he discovers and passes that wonder on to us. Muheisen shares how he has been changed by his life as a war photojournalist. He also shares how his life has been changed by meeting refugees from many conflicts. He has become determined to bring change to their lives as well.
Photographer premieres on National Geographic Channel on March 18. All episodes are available on Disney+ and Hulu beginning March 19.
Photos courtesy of National Geographic.
